International Commercial Arbitration: Perspective and Reforms

Arbitration is acknowledged globally to be facing a number of challenges these days. To some extent it is a victim of its own success. There are regular complaints about cost and delays, perhaps because of high demand. The Lord Chief Justice of England recently lamented that too much arbitration is stifling development of the common law via published decisions, because fewer cases are going through the Courts. The fear is that this may hamper the evolution of international commercial law that all tribunals apply. At the same time, for some, the Courts are the perceived problem. Some systems of arbitration suffer because of the risk of interference posed by the courts of their seat. Further, and to disputed degrees, it is difficult to take some kinds of disputes into arbitration and out of the reach of courts. Different legal systems have different views of the range of disputes that are properly arbitrable (and the range of arbitrable disputes has recently widened in Russia). A very distinguished panel will present different perspectives from the major arbitral centres around the world on these and other challenges, and also, constructively, the panel members' proposed solutions. There will also be consideration of Russia's new legislative reforms in relation to arbitration, and an assessment of how arbitration in Russia will fare as a result. This session will address the major controversies and problems facing international arbitration, and the potential impact on them of the new Law on International Commercial Arbitration of the Russian Federation. Particular topics will include: The scope for challenges to arbitral jurisdiction and decisions before national courts. The limits of party autonomy as regards the arbitrability of disputes and constitution of tribunals. Agreements to differ: whether common law and civil law tribunals and courts have different approaches and whether that can affect the result? The major perceived threats to existing systems of arbitration: Diffusion, complexity and cost, lack of transparency, cliques, the demise of precedent, new pressure for investor-state courts and competition from Commercial Courts. The future for arbitration, and how to get there. The panel comprises very distinguished speakers from some of the principal arbitration centres around the world, each with a unique perspective on current challenges, and solutions.